Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter created by 3D Realms. The game (version 1.3d) was released on 29th January 1996 for the PC, and was later ported to a number of consoles. It runs on the Build Engine which was created by Ken Silverman (who was the main coder of the well-known game Ken's Labyrinth). Duke Nukem once again takes up his role as the masculine, stereotypical bleach-blond hero in the third and most famous instalment of the Duke Nukem series of games. This is the first game in which Duke is voiced by Jon St. John. Story "Murderous aliens have landed in futuristic Los Angeles, and humans suddenly find themselves atop the endangered species list. The odds are a million-to-one, just the way Duke likes it!" Having managed to escape from (and destroy) the Rigelatin spaceship at the end of Duke Nukem II, Duke thinks things should be quiet for a while, but he's wrong. His sky car is shot from the air, and Duke is forced to eject onto a rooftop in Los Angeles. Angry that his ride has been shot up, Duke loads his pistol and goes shooting. He blasts his way through numerous different locations, including strip clubs, prisons, submarines, space stations, flooded cities, military bases and fast food restaurants, and destroys every alien he comes across. Gameplay Level design The levels of Duke Nukem 3D are many and varied, and depict locations ranging from deserted city streets and military bases to movie sets and moon bases. The levels are fairly non-linear, with multiple paths that can be taken. This non-linearity means the levels are well suited to multiplayer games. The level designs are highly praised, as the realistic design of the locations is not readily found in other games of the same genre at the time. Many of the levels of Duke Nukem 3D are also much more colourful than other similar games, while still being atmospheric where it needs to be. The first episode, L.A. Meltdown, is set in Los Angeles, and features deserted streets, strip clubs, a prison, a toxic waste dump and a canyon. The second episode, Lunar Apocalypse, takes Duke through space stations, moon bases, a fusion reactor and a spaceship. The third episode, Shrapnel City, features much more variety of levels, as it contains a sushi restaurant, a bank, a movie set, a subway, a hotel and a section of freeway, before culminating in a football stadium. Interactivity Duke Nukem 3D features much more interactivity than other games of its time, and more than many modern games do. Not only can Duke interact with a variety of switches and doors, but he can also play pool, use (broken) telephones, drink from water fountains, use toilets, turn lights on and off, look into mirrors and through security cameras, and pay strippers. Many objects around Duke are destructible, from explosive barrels, televisions and mirrors to wall clocks, fire hydrants and certain walls and floors. One notable result of this interactivity is that Duke can regain some of his health by drinking from any water source, such as water fountains, broken fire hydrants and even broken toilets. Famously, Duke can use the toilet first, break it and then drink from it to regain health. While some interactivity is useful, such as flipping light switches and looking at security monitors, other examples are for amusement only and provide no benefit to Duke. But it is this very pointless interactivity that helped make this game stand out from the others. Weapons Duke Nukem 3D offers a large selection of weapons to choose from, all of which can be carried simultaneously with full ammo with no drawbacks. Each weapon is different and unique, and range from weapons regularly used in computer games like pistols and shotguns, to highly destructive weapons, to weapons unique to the game even today. Two such unique weapons are the Shrink Ray, which can reduce an enemy to a couple of inches in height, and the Freezethrower which fires ice crystals at an enemy to freeze them. The games contains its fair share of explosions, and nearly half of Duke's weapons cause them: the RPG, the Pipebomb, the Devastator (a two-barrelled rocket launcher) and the Laser Trip Mine (a wall-mounted explosive device). A novel feature for its time, Duke is able to use his melee weapon (his Mighty Foot) while he is using a different weapon. Previously, games had only allowed the use of the melee weapon on its own. Enemies Duke Nukem 3D features a wide variety of enemies for Duke to fight against, as well as three boss enemies (the Battlelord, the Overlord and the Cycloid Emperor). Some of the enemies are aliens (e.g. Octabrains, Protector Drones), and some are mutated humans (e.g. Pig Cops, which are LAPD officers that have been mutated into human-sized anthropomorphic boars). Some enemies are mechanical and were constructed by humans, but were reprogrammed by the aliens to work for them (e.g. Turrets, Sentry Drones). There are even sharks in the game, although they are relegated to be the weakest enemy in the game. Items The game features a number of useful items that Duke can use to help him survive or progress through the game. These items include a jetpack, which allows Duke to fly for a while, Night Vision Goggles that allow him to see in dark places, Boots that allow him to walk over dangerous ground, and a Portable Medkit with which he can heal himself. He can also find a variety of Key Cards that allow him to open doors, deactivate forcefields and even demolish buildings. Multiplayer Duke Nukem 3D features LAN and modem-based multiplayer games. The two game types it features are Dukematch (deathmatch) and Co-op (several players team up and play through the single player levels). Fan-made maps are allowed in multiplayer games; any players that don't have the map download it automatically from the game's host when the game begins. There are twelve in-game taunts that were created for multiplayer play. They can be played by pressing "Alt" + "F1"-"F12" during play. The Atomic Edition added a third multiplayer game type: Duke Tag. It is akin to capture the flag. Plutonium PAK & Atomic Edition The Plutonium PAK is the name given to the patch that upgrades v1.3d of the game to v1.4. It was released in November 1996. It updates the game and introduces a new fourth episode, The Birth, in which Duke roams around a secret missions facility, a fast food restaurant, a bank, a post office, a shopping centre, an amusement park and even Area 51. The PAK also introduces a new weapon, the Microwave Expander, and three new enemies: Pig Cop Tank, Protector Drone and the boss enemy the Alien Queen. Once the game has been upgraded by the Plutonium PAK patch, the game is now called the Atomic Edition. In December 1996 another patch, this one unnamed, was released to upgrade v1.4 of the game to v1.5. The game is still called the Atomic Edition after this. This patch fixes a few bugs in the game. Expansion packs Three official expansion packs have been created for Duke Nukem 3D. *'Duke Caribbean: Life's A Beach' **Duke's well-earned vacation has been interrupted by another alien invasion. Armed with a host of exotic weapons, Duke kicks ass once again, tourist-style. *'Duke it out in D.C.' **Aliens have kidnapped the President! But have no fear, Mr. Clinton, Duke's on his way to save you! Duke explores a number of famous Washington D.C. landmarks, shoving freedom and justice down the aliens' throats as he goes. *'Duke: Nuclear Winter' **Aliens have invaded Santa's grotto, and it's up to Duke to rescue the jolly fat man. Facing down snowmen and evil elves will be a tough challenge, but the real question is: have you been naughty or nice? Ports Duke Nukem 3D has been ported to 4 consoles. *'Duke Nukem 64' :The Nintendo 64 port of the game. It varies a lot from the original game, relatively speaking, with many of the levels being changed for various reason (e.g. removing strip bars and replacing them with gun shops in an attempt to make the game less explicit). It also features a new set of weapons, and some new enemies. Finally, it includes a fully 3D rendered model of the Cycloid Emperor. *'Duke Nukem 3D ''(Sega Saturn version)' :The Sega Saturn port of the game, ported by Lobotomy Software and published by Sega. It is the only console port to feature real 3D worlds, a result of Lobotomy's ''SlaveDriver engine which the port uses. It features online gaming by utilising the Sega NetLink, it supports the console's analog pad, and it features a hidden multiplayer mini-game called Death Tank Zwei. *'Duke Nukem 3D ''(Sega Mega Drive version)' :A little-known port of the game, as it was released only in Brazil for the Sega Mega Drive. It is a much simplified version of the game, going so far as to only include a highly simplified version of the second episode, Lunar Apocalypse. *'Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown' :The PlayStation port of the game. It plays just as the original, and includes the original 3 episodes, plus one new episode exclusive to this port - '''Episode 4: Plug 'N' Pray'. *'Duke Nukem 3D ''(for Xbox Live Arcade)' :A port for the Xbox 360, released in the Xbox Live Arcade. It features on-line multiplayer support (both Dukematch and Co-op modes), and its own achievements. High Resolution Pack This pack contains replacements to the existing artwork of ''Duke Nukem 3D, in the form of high-resolution artwork. This includes replacing many sprites with proper 3D models, and the rest of the sprites and tiles with high-resolution counterparts. It is an ongoing project, and is entirely fanbase-driven. Credits *'Ken Silverman' :Game engine creator *'George Broussard' :President of 3D Realms, level creator *'Allen H Blum III' :Level creator *'Keith Schuler' :Level creator *'Randall Pitchford II' :Level creator *'Richard "The Levelord" Gray' :Level creator External links *[http://www.3drealms.com/duke3d/index.html Official Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition page] *''Duke Nukem 3D'' on Wikipedia Category:Games